Piano hammer assemblies



March 23, 1965 A. E. RICE PIANO HAMMER ASSEMBLIES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 29, 1963 INVENTOR ARLo E. E ace BY fl ATTORNEYS March 23, 1965 A. E. RICE PIANO HAMMER ASSEMBLIES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 29, 1965 R m w m ARLQ E. Qace ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,174,379 PIANO HAMMER ASSEMBLEES Arlo E. Rice, Baird, Tex, assignor of forty-nine percent to Hartman Hooser, Big Spring, Ten; Chester Cathey, administrator of said Arlo E. Rice, deceased Filed Mar. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 268,992 9 Claims. (Cl. 84-254) This invention relates to novel piano hammer assemblies.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of piano hammer assemblies having generally improved construction, involving improved shanks and improved means of connecting the shanks to the hammers and the hammer butts of the assemblies. In the cases of piano hammer assemblies employing single rod shanks, there exist tendencies to loosening of these shanks in the hammers and butts, to side-to-side shudder, and to twisting, which produces inaccurate and non-uniform tones when the piano keys associated therewith are struck. The hammer assemblies of the present invention eliminate or substantially reduce these tendencies and have substantially life-time durability, so that periodic repair or replacement of the assemblies is also eliminated.

Another object of the invention is the provision of hammer assemblies of the character indicated above which are fabricated from metal or plastic material, whereby there are eliminated the disadvantages inherent in wooden shanks, of warping, splitting, or breaking, due to faults in the wood, which produce undesirable variations in tone, because of their instability, in contrast to the clearer, balanced tones produced by the herein disclosed assemblies.

A further object of the invention is the provision of hammer assemblies of the character indicated above, which involve spaced dual prongs, on the ends of their shanks, which have tight expanding fits in the hammers and butts, which substantially eliminate loosening of the hammers and butts on the shanks, and which eliminate side-to-side shudder, and twisting of the shanks relative to the hammers and the butts.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of hammer assemblies of the character indicated above, wherein the shanks are adapted to be economically, uniformly, and accurately fabricated, by machine methods, from sheet metal, such as aluminum, or from suitable plastics.

Other important objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein, for purposes of illustration only, specific forms of the invention are set forth in detail.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a piano hammer assembly in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a blank from which the shank of FIGURE 1 is formed;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view, showing the formed shank preparatory to assembly thereof to the hammer of said assembly, the butt being omitted;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of said blank, showing the same partially formed;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 7 is a horizontal section taken on the line 77 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the shank, per se, of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is a side elevation of a further embodiment of the present invention; and,

3,174,379 Patented Mar. 23, 1965 ice FIGURE 10 is a horizontal section taken on the line 10-10 of FIGURE 9.

Referring in detail to the drawings, wherein like and related numerals designate like and related parts throughout the several views, and first to FIGURES 1 to 5 thereof, the piano hammer assembly therein shown, and generally designated 12, comprises a generally conventional hammer 14, a generally conventional butt 16, having a conventional back stop 18, and a novel shank 20, which extends between and carries the hammer 14 and the butt 16.

The hammer 14 differs from the conventional form only in that it is provided with two spaced parallel bores 22, instead of a single bore, and the butt 16 is provided with similar laterally spaced bores 24, instead of a single bore.

The shank 20 has, on its ends, pairs of laterally spaced parallel prongs 26 and 28, which have tight, expansive plug fits in the dual bores of the hammer and the butt, respectively. The prongs comprise split tubes of sheet material of limited resilience, such as metal, including aluminum, and plastic materials, wherein the side edges of the walls of the tubes substantially overlap, as indicated at 30 and 32, whereby the prongs are adapted to be compressed for entry into the bores of the hammer and the butt, and then expands to provide a strong and durable anchoring thereof in the bores, the tubes being initially slightly larger in diameter than the bores in which they are engaged, in the hammer 14 and the butt 16.

The shank 26 is formed from an elongated blank B having a main portion 34 having parallel side edges 36 having laterally outwardly flared end portions 387 The blank B has squared ends 46, which are centrally indented by rectangular notches 42. Transverse slits 44, parallel to the ends 40 extend laterally outwardly from the side edges 46 of the notches, in line with the bottom edges 48 of the notches. The flared end portions 38 correspond to the inner side edges 30 of the prong tubes, and the side edges of the notches correspond to the outer side edges 32 of the prong tubes.

As shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the blank B is suitably cast or machine formed, so that its side edges 36 are rolled laterally inwardly upon the main portion 34, as indicated at 50, in forming the prong tubes, and the main portion is centrally formed with an upstanding longitudinal reinforcing rib 52 of V-shaped cross section. The rolls 50 and the rib 52 reinforce and stiffen the shank 20, and provide substantially rigid support for the prongs, the complete shank having nevertheless a desirably limited resilience, in the interest of proper action, and limited bendability which enables the shank to be bent, when necessary, to line up the hammer and the butt, in the striking direction. Due to absence of deterioration of the shank 2G and its dual securements to the hammer and the butt, the resultant assembly has an indefinitely long life without further adjustments or replacements of the shank.

The form of the invention shown in FIGURES 6 to 8, and generally designated 12 differs from that of FIG- URES 1 to 6, in that the shank 20 is composed of a single solid rod composed of an elongated main portion 34 of solid oval cross section, which terminates, at its ends, in squared ends 40 which are wider than the main portion 34 and extend laterally beyond the side of the main portion remote from the felt 54 of the hammer 14, from which preferably integral dual prongs 26 and 28 extend into dual bores 22 and 24, provided in the hammer 14 and the butt 16, respectively.

The further form of the invention, shown in FIGURES 9 or 10, and generally designated 12*, comprises a pair of parallel laterally spaced, preferably solid cylindrical rods having main portions 34 extending between a hammer 12 and a butt 16 and terminating at their ends, in prongs 26 and 28 plugfitted into dual spaced bores 22 and 24 in the hammer and the butt, respectively.

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The forms of the invention shown in FIGURES 6 to 8 and 9 and 10, while differing in methods of fabrication, provide long-life and operating advantages substantially similar to those of the form shown in FEGURES 1 through 5. It is to be noted that the prongs of all disclosed embodiments are parallel to the longitudinal centerlines of their shanks.

Although there have been shown and described preferred forms of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily confined thereto, and that any change or changes in the structure of and in the reTative arrangements of components thereof are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A piano hammer assembly comprising a hammer, a butt, and a shank, said hammer and said butt having spaced bores, and said shank having pairs of prongs on its ends secured in related bores of the hammer and the butt, said prongs being parallel spaced and parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the shank, said shank between the pairs of prongs being of single piece construction and integral with said pairs of prongs.

2. A piano hammer assembly comprising a hammer, a butt, and a shank, said hammer and said butt having spaced bores, and said shank having pairs of prongs on its ends secured in related bores of the hammer and the butt, said shank comprising a formed sheet of relatively rigid material having limited resilience.

3. A piano hammer assembly comprising a hammer, a butt, and a shank, said hammer and said butt having spaced bores, and said shank having pairs of prongs on its ends secured in related bores of the hammer and the butt, said shank comprising a formed sheet of relatively rigid material having limited resilience, said prongs consisting of split tubes initially larger in diameter than the bores.

4. A piano hammer assembly comprising a hammer, a butt, and a shank, said hammer and said butt having spaced bores, and said shank having pairs of prongs on its ends secured in related bores of the hammer and the butt, said shank comprising a formed sheet of relatively rigid material having limited resilience, said prongs consisting of split tubes initially larger in diameter than the bores and having overlapped inner and outer side edges.

5. A piano hammer assembly comprising a hammer, a butt, and a shank, said hammer and said butt having spaced bores, and said shank having pairs of prongs on its ends secured in related bores of the hammer and the butt, said shank comprising a formed sheet of relatively rigid material having limited resilience, said prongs consisting of split tubes initially larger in diameter than the bores and having overlapped inner and outer side edges, said shank having an elongated main portion, having parallel side edges terminating in outwardly angled end portions, said main portion having squared ends, said ends being formed with centered notches opening thereto, the portions between the notches and the angled end portions being formed into said prongs.

6. A piano hammer assembly comprising a hammer, a butt, and a shank, said hammer and said butt having spaced bores, and said shank having pairs of prongs on its ends secured in related bores of the hammer and the butt, said shank comprising a formed sheet of relatively rigid material having limited resilience, said prongs consisting of split tubes initially larger in diameter than the bores and having overlapped inner and outer side edges, said shank having an elongated main portion, having parallel side edges terminating in outwardly angled end portions, said main portion having squared ends, said ends being formed with centered notches opening thereto, the portions between the notches and the angled end portions being formed into said prongs, the side edges of the main portion being rolled laterally inwardly onto the main portion.

7. A piano hammer assembly comprising a hammer, a butt, and a shank, said hammer and said butt having spaced bores, and said shank having pairs of prongs on its ends secured in related bores of the hammer and the butt, said shank comprising a single rod having a main portion and squared ends, said prongs extending from said square ends.

8. A piano hammer assembly comprising a hammer, a butt, and a shank, said hammer and said butt having spaced bores, and said shank having pairs of prongs on its ends secured in related bores of the hammer and the butt, said shank comprising a single rod having a main portion and squared ends, said prongs extending from said squared ends, said main portion being of oval cross section and solid.

9. A piano hammer assembly comprising a hammer, a butt, and a shank, said hammer and said butt having spaced bores, and said shank having pairs of prongs on its ends secured in related bores of the hammer and the butt, said shank comprising a single rod having a main portion and squared ends, said prongs extending from said squared ends, said main portion being of oval cross section and solid, the ends of the main portion extending laterally from the side of the main portion remote from the hammer.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 798,600 9/05 Cords 84-254 912,860 2/09 Laker 84-254 FOREIGN PATENTS 236,677 7/11 Germany.

LEYLAND M. MARTIN, Primary Examiner.

LEO SMILOW, Examiner. 

1. A PIANO HAMMER ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A HAMMER, A BUTT, AND A SHANK, SAID HAMMER AND SAID BUTT HAVING SPACED BORES, AND SHANK HAVING PAIRS OF PRONGS ON ITS ENDS SECURED IN RELATED BORES OF THE HAMMER AND THE BUTT, SAID PRONGS BEING PARALLEL SPACED AND PARALLEL TO THE LONGITUDINAL CENTERLINE OF THE SHANK, SAID SHANK BETWEEN THE PAIRS OF PRONGS BEING SINGLE PIECE CONSTRUCTION AND INTEGRAL WITH SAID PAIRS OF PRONGS. 